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Palos Verdes' Casey Celestin kicks the final stretch to win the Bay League varsity boys cross country final Thursday, November 07, 2013, in Palos Verdes Estates, CA. Palos Verdes won the team competition with 30 points. Palos Verdes' Casey Celestin, right, was the winner and the only the second runner to break 16 minutes on the course.
Photo by Steve McCrank / Daily Breeze

The PV boys and the Mira Costa girls captured Bay League crowns Thursday at the Palos Verdes Course.

It is becoming the November norm.

The PV boys won their fifth straight Bay League title and their sixth in seven years. The Mira Costa girls won their second straight Bay League title and their seventh in eight years.

“Elite teams pick it up at the end of the season,” said PV’s Casey Celestin, who claimed the boys individual title as well. “That’s what we try to do every year. It’s the start of more big races, and we try to take it up a level.

“We were really excited, especially because we finished second in each of the first two meets,” Hong said. “I had a lot of confidence in the girls to pull out the win, and everyone was really strong and focused.”

The PV boys received a sterling performance from Celestin, who became just the second boys runner to post a sub-16 minute mark at the Palos Verdes course with his 15 minute, 57-second performance on the grueling three-mile course.

Only PV’s Jonah Diaz posted a faster time when he clocked a 15:43 mark in 2011.

“The first and second mile, (Redondo’s) Carlos (Suarez) and Will (Tait) were right there, and so was (West Torrance’s Yousef Baddour),” Celestin said. “I knew I just had to get to the top of Agony Hill and take off from there.”

PV placed all five runners in the top 10. In addition to Celestin, Miles Irish (fourth place, 16:34), Luke Letwin (seventh, 16:56), Lucas Robinson (eighth, 17;00) and Ian Jones (11th, 17:17) formed a tight pack.

Suarez secured second place for Redondo in 16:26. Tait took third in 16:31. Dustin Herold (sixth, 16:54), Takehiro Yamaya (13th, 17:25) and Nicholas Wells (15th, 17:28) rounded out Redondo’s pack.

Hong and Lautanen delivered a powerful 1-2 combination in 18:59 and 19:28 respectively.

Lautanen is normally about fourth or fifth overall in league, but said she started feeling confident enough to make a push for the front of the pack.

“Usually I’m fourth or fifth and I keep that spot, but I kept picking people off and felt like I made up the most ground in the last mile,” Lautanen said. “Our coach (Renee Williams-Smith) said the last mile is usually where it’s won on this course, and that’s all I was thinking about at the end.”

Redondo also was strong, taking places 6-10 with Amber Gore (19:57), Nicole Beaudoin (19:58), Taylor Beaudoin (20:04) and Avevay Hiehle (20:15) with Nicole Pederson rounding out the pack in 18th place in 21:23.

Still Mira Costa reigned supreme.

“We knew we had to work harder because it was Bay League finals and it was a tough course,” Lautanen said. “Every person counts here. We knew we had to push harder than normal, especially because this was the one that counted the most.”